Got to do something to distract from the "Keith Oberman" thread, and get back to talking football. So, at nearly the halfway point of the season, here are my Power Ratings:

1.) New Orleans Saints: Have beaten far better competition than the undefeated Colts...with a win over the Giants, and road wins in tough locales, Philly and Miami. The Saints are, to this point, the reincarnation of the 2007 Patriots;

2.) Indianapolis Colts: Though Patriot fans may argue that the Colts haven't played anybody decent yet, they have a lopsided road win over the suddenly surging Arizona Cardinals. As I have stated many times this season, I have never seen Peyton Manning play better than he has this season. Indy will become more formidable as guys like Dwight Freeney, Bob Sanders, and Marlin Jackson get healthy. Big test coming soon against the Patriots;

3.) Pittsburgh Steelers: Though their defense hasn't nearly been what it was last year, the Steelers have still won 5 out of 7. Ben Roethliberger has established himself as an elite QB. SS Troy Polamalu's return to health is the key to their season;

4.) New England Patriots: After blasting a couple of NFL bottom feeders, we'll soon see just how good the Patriots really are, as they face off against Miami, @ Indy, Jets, @ New Orleans, and @ Miami. Win all five, and the Patriots will be on top of this list in six weeks. Win 4 of 5, and the Pats will be in the top three best teams. These next five games will tell all there is to know about the 2009 Pats.

5.) Denver Broncos: Yeah, they beat the Pats. But, which team would you rather see coming to town to play your boys, the Pats or Broncos? Scored an impressive win in San Diego. Have some tough games coming up, which will give them the opportunity to continue to impress;

6.) Minnesota Vikings: Losta tough one to the Steelers. But, the Vikes have shown that they have the weapons to play with anyone. Another tough one coming up against the resurgent Packers in Green Bay.

7.) Arizona Cardinals: Impressed with back to back road wins in Seattle and against the Giants. Their defense is playing much better of late...and they are developing just enough balance on offense to keep opposing defenses honest;

8.) Cincinnati Bengals: Own quality wins against the Steelers and Ravens. Blasted the overrated Bears last week. But for an immaculate reflection, would have beaten the Broncos as well;

9.) Dallas Cowboys: WR Miles Austin exploding on the scene has turned this team around. Buried Atlanta last week. Just signed to a lucrative long term extension, DeMarcus Ware is a happy camper...which spells trouble for future Dallas opponents.

10.) Baltimore Ravens: Other teams have fallen off dramatically, allowing the Ravens to move back into the top ten. Not the defensive laviathan they were last year, but a better team offensively. Give Joe Flacco a couple of decent WRs, and he would flourish;

11.) Green Bay Packers: Have moved up primarily because their defense is playing better. If only they could run the ball some, and do a better job of protecting QB Aaron Rodgers;

12.) Philadelphia Eagles: Still don't know how they lost to the Raiders. Injuries are catching up to them. In DeSean Jackson, they have one of the top gamebreakers in the NFL;

13.) NY Giants: How the mighty have fallen. What has happened to their defense?

14.) NY Jets: Have enough of a defense and a running attack to be respectable. But, have been decimated by injuries to RB/KR Leon Washington, NT Kris Jenkins, and WR Jerricho Cotchery. Cotchery's return this week will be a boon to Mark Sanchez;

15.) Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons are a team in search of an identity. Are the a passing team behind Matt Ryan? Are they a running team behind Michael Turner? But, all that aside...the question is, can they stop anybody defensively?

16.) Miami Dolphins: Physical football team that will leave bruises on whatever team it faces. Tough running game. The best sub-500 team in the NFL by far;

17.) San Diego Chargers: As long as they have a healthy Philip Rivers and his swift, tall WRs, this team can score with anyone. Coaching and defense have been the achilles heel thus far for this grossly underachieving team;

18.) Houston Texans: The Texans are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get;

19.) San Francisco 49ers: Now that rookie WR Michael Crabtree is finally in the fold, this team could begin to climb. Is Alex Smith finallly ready to take command on this team? We'll see this week against Indy.

20.) Jacksonville Jaguars: A respectable team that usually won't embarrass itself;

21.) Buffalo Bills: Caught a tough break in losing QB Trent Edwards (concussion). The Bills have a respectable running game, and an improving defense. T.O. has been a no go this season;

22.) Seattle Seahawks: QB position must be addressed in the upcoming draft;

23.) Chicago Bears: I thought QB Jay Cuter was to be the Messiah of the Midway? LOL!!

24.) Carolina Panthers: See capsule summary #22 above;

25.) Oakland Raiders: Somehow, this team has won two games;

26.) Cleveland Browns: The Bills are kicking themselves that they actually lost at home to these guys;

27.) Kansas City Chiefs: RB Larry Johnson's twitter-fritters did his team no good;

28.) Washington Redskins: A team in turmoil, that has actually lost to the Lions;

29.) Tennessee Titans: Unreal what has happened to this team. Its' time to hand over the reigns to QB Vince Young;

I think you pointed out your own flaw. Unless and until the Broncos fall behind the Patriots, they win the tiebreaker.

And picking which bad team is the worst is just painful. I choose the Titans because I think the Bucs team the Pats faced Sunday would beat them. The Lions have won a game and shouldn't be last under the Bucs and Titans. Cleveland is just plain awful - I'm pretty certain they've set the league back 10 years.

-Titans

-Bucs

-Lions

-Cleveland

-Washington (2-4, but organizationally defunct)

Anyhow, the only power rankings that matter are the ones decided in the playoffs.

The Viklings had them squashed twice until The Human Turnover (the actual Human Turnover, not that poser in Charlotte) started doing his thing deep in the Red Zone. I'm also a little curious about Denver. Yes, I know everybody and their brother keeps insisting that Denver is a mirage -- and it may be -- but that team beat the Pats, you may recall, and if it somehow manages to keep winning and gets playoff games at home, who is going into Denver to beat them, I wonder?

I agree with the saints at #1. I don't think colts or steelers deserve to be where you have them, simply based on their soft schedules.

colts most recent victories against the titans, seahawks and rams and barely beat the two mediocre teams in the jags and fins.

steelers have the fourth softest schedule in the league, loosing to the bears and bengals, winning close games over the pitiful titans, browns and lions and needed two gift TDs to beat the vikings at home!

I think I'd put them at about 10. the colts at 8 or so, just based on manning alone.

I'd have the pats ahead of both of them, again based on strength of schedule played thus far. The pats have beat quality teams in the falcons and ravens played denver very close in their house.

Broncos, vikings and giants should be ahead of the pats, pats ahead of the steelers and colts.

I agree with the saints at #1. I don't think colts or steelers deserve to be where you have them, simply based on their soft schedules. colts most recent victories against the titans, seahawks and rams and barely beat the two mediocre teams in the jags and fins. steelers have the fourth softest schedule in the league, loosing to the bears and bengals, winning close games over the pitiful titans, browns and lions and needed two gift TDs to beat the vikings at home! I think I'd put them at about 10. the colts at 8 or so, just based on manning alone. I'd have the pats ahead of both of them, again based on strength of schedule played thus far. The pats have beat quality teams in the falcons and ravens played denver very close in their house. Broncos, vikings and giants should be ahead of the pats, pats ahead of the steelers and colts.Posted by unclealfie

I don't disagree with the Steelers being at 10, but I find it ironic that when the Patriots beat the Bills, with the Bills fumble on the kickoff being a huge play, that alot, but not all the Patriot fans were saying that the Patriots 'caused' the fumble and it wasn't a 'gift' or luck. But when the Steelers make two big defensive plays, all of a sudden it's two gift touchdowns from the Vikings. I also agree that the Patriots should be rated higher because of the way they've been playing, regardless who the opponet is. The Steelers have not been a dominating team, even in the two years they won the Superbowl. Alot of their games always seem to be close, but they seem to win more than they lose. I know Power Rankings are sometimes fun to put together, and there's nothing wrong with that, but the bottom line is, to make the Playoffs and be peaking at the right time. I was really impressed with the Vikings defense, and Farve seems to be a better fit at Minnesota than he was at Ny Jets. Keeping Peterson in check most of the game, I thought was a big key to this game. You never know what's going to happen in the NFL anymore. And a few key injuries can really have alot of effect on a team as well. Not trying to 'diss' the Colts, but how do you think their team would fare if all of a sudden, Peyton Manning goes down? Looking forward to the Colts & the Patriots game, it should be a good one!

PrairieMike. I believe that Lebeau's defense is tailor made (blitzing LBs and strong physical play on the line and secondary) to beat a team like New Orleans. The problem is they won't face eachother unless it's inthe SB...I think..and like it or not Bitchburgh is still capable of scoring defensive TDs. Their weakness could be the O Line.

Will anyone remember that the Saints were #1 in the week 8 power rankings if they don't make it to the Super Bowl ?

The numbers don't adjust for the fact that the strong have to play the strong, especially in the AFC East.

After thinking about the New Orleans game, they really lolligagged for awhile. Why? Is goofing off in their contract? Nevertheless, they might get a higher number and Miami might get a lower number in a do-over.

I'd question Bitchburgh at # 3. The Viklings had them squashed twice until The Human Turnover (the actual Human Turnover, not that poser in Charlotte) started doing his thing deep in the Red Zone.

RESPONSE: The Steelers, the Pats, and the Broncos could be flip-flopped from 3-5.

I'm also a little curious about Denver. Yes, I know everybody and their brother keeps insisting that Denver is a mirage -- and it may be -- but that team beat the Pats, you may recall, and if it somehow manages to keep winning and gets playoff games at home, who is going into Denver to beat them, I wonder?

RESPONSE: Is there really any question in your mind that if the Pats get a rematch against the Broncos in Denver, Foxboro, London, or on several rafts stung together in the Pacific Ocean...that the Pats will beat them? The teams the Pats must to beat in order to advance to another SB are the Indianapolis Colts, and the Steelers.

It seems that the slobbering love affair the media has with manning and the colts has been contagious. I keep seeing people rank them at #2. I think that's preposterous. As I said earlier in this thread, look at their record; colts most recent victories are against the titans, seahawks and rams, maybe the three worst teams in the NFL. They barely beat two mediocre teams in the jags and fins and beat arizona when they were slumping. Sure they have manning but there's a half dozen other pretty good QBs in the league, too. when tommy's rehabbed, I'd take him over manning in a big game anytime.Posted by unclealfie

If the season started tomorrow, a specific team would probably win this many victories in a 16 game season: buf 8.0 mia 13.0 ne 14.9 nyj 12.3 bal 9.4 cin 9.9 cle 5.0 pit 11.2 hou 9.0 ind 14.0 jac 3.7 ten 1.8 den 9.6 kc 2.7 oak 1.3 sd 7.9 dal 9.3 nyg 9.3 phi 8.7 was 3.0 chi 5.9 det 3.8 gb 10.2 min 11.7 atl 11.6 car 4.0 no 13.5 tb 2.0 az 12.8 sf 7.1 sea 7.0 stl 2.4 The numbers don't adjust for the fact that the strong have to play the strong, especially in the AFC East. After thinking about the New Orleans game, they really lolligagged for awhile. Why? Is goofing off in their contract? Nevertheless, they might get a higher number and Miami might get a lower number in a do-over.Posted by Paul_K

It seems that the slobbering love affair the media has with manning and the colts has been contagious. I keep seeing people rank them at #2. I think that's preposterous. As I said earlier in this thread, look at their record; colts most recent victories are against the titans, seahawks and rams, maybe the three worst teams in the NFL. They barely beat two mediocre teams in the jags and fins and beat arizona when they were slumping. Sure they have manning but there's a half dozen other pretty good QBs in the league, too. when tommy's rehabbed, I'd take him over manning in a big game anytime.Posted by unclealfie

I agree with the saints at #1. I don't think colts or steelers deserve to be where you have them, simply based on their soft schedules. colts most recent victories against the titans, seahawks and rams and barely beat the two mediocre teams in the jags and fins. steelers have the fourth softest schedule in the league, loosing to the bears and bengals, winning close games over the pitiful titans, browns and lions and needed two gift TDs to beat the vikings at home! I think I'd put them at about 10. the colts at 8 or so, just based on manning alone. I'd have the pats ahead of both of them, again based on strength of schedule played thus far. The pats have beat quality teams in the falcons and ravens played denver very close in their house. Broncos, vikings and giants should be ahead of the pats, pats ahead of the steelers and colts.Posted by unclealfie